In food service, especially fast food service, it is common to provide beverages such as coffee, tea, carbonated colas, or fruit drinks in disposable cups. With the configuration of drinking cups presently in use, it is relatively easy to upset the cups, resulting in accidental spillage of their contents. Such accidents commonly occur, particularly in busy restaurants, and on moving transportation such as automobiles, ships, trains and planes. Therefore it is desirable to provide a cup configuration which is resistant to spillage.
In the development of presently-used disposable cups, various cup configurations have been developed. By far the most common cup configuration includes a circular base, and a conical wall extending upwardly and tapering outwardly from the outer perimeter of the base, then terminating to form a circular mouth. This mouth is normally larger in size than the base, with the cup configuration being similar in shape to an inverted truncated cone. This configuration allows the cups to be readily and conveniently stacked in a nesting relationship, resulting in space savings. However, as previously discussed, this configuration tends to be unstable, or "topheavy", when containing a fluid. It has been known to provide cups having a taper in the opposite direction, with the base having a greater diameter than the mouth to provide stability to the cup but this configuration does not allow the cups to be stacked.
Therefore it has been known to provide a detachable supporting base which attaches to the lower portion of a cup, and provides more stability to the base. Examples of such detachable stabilizing devices are disclosed by Kickhefel (U.S. Pat. No. 536,353), Fullerton (U.S. Pat. No. 1,925,241), Sawyer (U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,967), Holley (U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,786), Holley (U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,271), and Barth (U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,015).
Sawyer discloses the use of a selectively detachable base configured to accept and grasp the lower portion of a cup, by providing a friction fit between the outside walls of the cup and a mating upstanding annular flange.
Kickhefel discloses the use of a drip stand having two halves, and also having a pair of springs each having one end attached to each of the halves such that the halves combine to define a circular cup-accepting recess. As a cup is placed within the recess, the two halves separate against the urging of the springs, and the springs act to bias the halves against the outer walls of the cup, creating a friction fit between the drip stand and the cup.
Holley '217, and Holley '786 each discloses a combinaton cup lid-base which may be alternately placed atop the mouth or the base of a cup. It should be noted that Holley '271 further discloses one embodiment which may be inverted, exposing a flat surface upon which the cup may be placed. When inverted as such, the device does not attach to the base, but acts as a coaster.
Berth discloses the use of a saucer having a cup-retaining recess configured to accept the lower portion of a cup and form a friction fit between the outer walls of the cup and the inner walls of the recess. A suction sup is provided on the underside of the saucer, which is configured to adhere to a supporting surface.
Fullerton discloses the use of a anti-drip coaster for accepting a drinking cup including a suction cup and an annular upturned ridge. The suction cup is configured to attach to and maintain a grip on the underside of the drinking cup. The upturned ridge is configured such that any spillage from the cup will be retained within the coaster even when the cup is positioned for drinking. It should be understood that the suction fit disclosed in Fullerton is limited in effectiveness to cups having a smooth underside such as that provided by glass or ceramic.
Although these devices do provide selectively detachable bases for conventional fluid containers, they are limited in effectiveness and versatility, as they are intended to accept only a particular cup configuraton. The devices disclosed in Sawyer, Holley '786, and Holley '271, may only be attached to cups having a particular base size and side wall draft. The device disclosed in Fullerton is only effective when used with cups having a smooth, flat, hard underside, such as reusable glass or ceramic cups. Therefore a need exists for a cup stabilizer which may be used with a variety of cups, including disposable cups, which may have a variety of side wall drafts.
At times, it is also desirable to provide a drinking cup coaster which is not attached to the cup, but instead is placed upon a support surface (such as a table) to provide an intermediate barrier between a support surface and the cup base, to prevent moisture or spillage from the cup from staining or damaging the support surface.
Various coasters have been provided which provide such a barrier. These devices are typically flat, and may be composed of a plastic-laminated paperboard, cork, glass, or other similarly insulative material. However, it should be noted that these devices typically do not attach to the cup, and do not provide any stability to the cup.
As previously discussed, the detachable base of Holly '271 may also be used as a coaster. However, it must be inverted from its cup-stabilizing position, which is an inconvenience to the user.
Therefore it may also be seen there is also a need for a drinking cup attachment which accepts a wide variety of conventional cup configurations, and may be selectively and conveniently used as either a detached coaster or an attached stabilizing base and drip retainer, depending upon the preference of the user.